Heaven Falls Pitifully Short
by EbonyRiddenSoul
Summary: The jounin's cheeks were wet with tears and he sat staring down at his lap. When he finally moved again it was to rake a hand through his disheveled bed head and scrub at his eyes. Iruka gave his partner's hand a gentle squeeze, before venturing to speak. "You were dreaming about them...your teammates who've passed on." KakaIru! 1shot! Mild angst. Slight fluff.


**A.N. Last night I got this terrible urge to just write. And it wasn't even to type either; it was to sit down with a pencil and a notebook of empty lined paper and write something. So I used Stephen King's quote as inspiration and just started writing. KakaIru were quite insistent at being the main characters of this particular one shot. I wasn't about to argue with that as I found everything flowed so smoothly onto the paper.**

 **Once I finally finished writing at 3am I went to bed and then I typed it all up just now. So...I hope you enjoy. Thanks for the read.**

 **Heaven Falls Pitifully Short**

"Alone. Yes, that's the key word; the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym."

\- Stephen King

* * *

Iruka Umino's eyes blinked open slowly...naturally. He shifted slightly in his bed and glanced at the bedside clock that sat on the table by his head. It was not yet 3:00 am. Why had he awoken so naturally, at such an irregular hour? With a slight sigh, he settled more comfortably into his bed, and resolved to drift peacefully back to sleep. He had a full day at the Academy tomorrow that he could not be sleep deprived for. Just as his eyes slid shut, a low groan, more a whine than anything, sounded from the person who lay beside him.

 _There he was...expected to pick up the shattered remains of his life along with the other villagers populating the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Hatake, Kakashi simply could not force himself to look past the sheer devastation the Nine tailed Beast had wrought._

The noise of distress, however slight it was, broke the peaceful silence of the bedroom and immediately caught Iruka's attention. He turned his head promptly and peered at the sleeping form of Kakashi by the light of the silvery moon's rays which shone through their bedroom window.

 _His sensei was dead. Now he remained the sole survivor of what was once known as Team Minato. Kakashi was utterly alone._

The copy ninja gave another throaty whine though this one sound more like a whimper. As Iruka surveyed the jounin's face, he could clearly see that he was still deep in the throes of sleep; however it was quite apparent to the academy teacher, that Kakashi was having unpleasant dreams. He blinked his eyes repeatedly and worried at his bottom lip in hesitation. He continued to lay patiently still though; watching closely and listening intently for any other signs his partner might make.

Kakashi, however, remained still and so Iruka took that as his cue to go back to sleep. As his tired eyes closed once again, and his body relaxed into the mattress, Kakashi suddenly became vocal once again.

 _The memories that so often plagued his mind and conscience resurfaced in an instant. The last memories of his teammates. . . Obito lying beneath the fallen rocks of the cave-in; struggling to breathe as he gifted Kakashi his left eye and urged him to go._

"Nn!" His eyebrows furrowed deeply. "Nngh! Obito! No..."

Iruka's eyes snapped back open.

 _. . . Rin as she threw herself in front of an attack that was not meant for her._

"Rin! You can't; no...No! Why? Why!" The silver haired jounin's head tossed weakly on his pillow.

Iruka sat up promptly.

 _The closest most cherished comrades he possessed were lost and he was powerless to act in opposition. Virtually useless in the battle against fate._

"Sensei! No!" Kakashi was shouting, his voice at full volume now.

Iruka hurried to turn to the bedside lamp and switch it on. As he did this he could hear Kakashi go on, into hysterics.

"Why did you leave? You left me...all alone! There's no one else! You're all gone! Why!"

 _The cards he had been dealt, seemed to curse him with this solitude._

At this point, Iruka knew he had to wake his lover up. He could not allow him to endure the torment of these memories any longer. "Kakashi! Darling...wake up! You're not alone. I'm here. Hey...hey, shh...Shh, darling I'm here with you. It's okay! It was a dream."

Kakashi had awoken with a jolt. He'd sat upright in one swift movement before his hands came to his face and he doubled over.

"It was just a bad dream. You're here now. I'm here with you. You're okay. Shh..." Iruka soothed in a mantra.

The copy ninja's bare torso felt warm and damp with sweat as the brown haired chunin wrapped one of his arms around his chest and then ran the other hand comfortingly up and down his back. Iruka continued his shushing and even began a slight rocking motion in his effort to calm the other man.

Slowly, the slight tremble in Kakashi's frame lessened, and his ragged breathing slowed. When Iruka sensed this he detached himself from him in order to get a better look at his face.

As Iruka sat back to survey his visage, one of Kakashi's hands followed after him and grasped one of the school teacher's hands softly, for reassurance. The jounin's cheeks were wet with tears and he sat staring down at his lap. When he finally moved again it was to rake a hand through his disheveled bed head and scrub at his eyes.

Iruka gave his partner's hand a gentle squeeze, before venturing to speak. "You were dreaming about them...your teammates who've passed on."

It wasn't a question, so Kakashi responded with, "Did I say much?"

His voice was gruff and Iruka refrained himself from wincing at how it must hurt to speak. He replied softly, calmly, and clearly. "I know you felt so alone back then. It was such a hard time for you. You had no one else; but now, we're here. You have me, just as I have you. We never have to feel alone as long as we have each other."

Kakashi, in response to hearing this, let out a long, tired, exhale of breath. His shoulders, which had rested tautly, now relaxed into a more naturally slumped position. He grasped Iruka's hand within his own, more securely, and then gently raised it to his unmasked face. He kissed the skin of the top of Iruka's hand with care and then lay his slightly stubbled cheek against that same hand.

With that tender gesture, Iruka scooted even closer to his love so that he could comfortably take the silver haired man's face in his hands and place several soft, adoring, kisses upon his perfect lips. With a final soft peck, he pulled away, and Kakashi leant his head forward so their foreheads would meet in a gesture of comfort and adoration.

"Thank you." He breathed quietly.

Iruka couldn't help but smile softly when he heard the words. They were two simple words but spoken with such sheer sincerity behind them that they filled Iruka's chest with a tight warm feeling. "I love you too." He replied quietly and at that Kakashi gave a soft hum of content, before he slowly began to slide back down into his initial position; laying in bed.

Iruka made quick work of turning the bedside lamp off and settling back under the covers. As he cradled Kakashi's form against his side he was once again overcome with that feeling of warmth.

Kakashi cured Iruka of loneliness just as Iruka had done for him. They both had been left utterly alone; but now that they had one another they'd found themselves the most beautiful thing that fate could have allowed. If hell was a poor synonym to describe being alone; surely heaven fell just as pitifully short at describing what they had.


End file.
